Council Regulation (EC) No 617/2007Show full title

Article 7 Annual action programmes

1. The Commission shall adopt annual action programmes based on the strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes referred to in Article 4.

Exceptionally, for instance where an annual action programme has not yet been adopted, the Commission may, on the basis of the strategy papers and multiannual indicative programmes, adopt measures not provided for in the annual action programme under the same rules and procedures.

2. The annual action programmes shall be prepared by the Commission with the partner country or region, involving the Member States locally represented and coordinating where appropriate with other donors, notably in cases of joint programming, and the EIB. The annual action programmes shall describe the general context and assess Community assistance and lessons learnt, including regarding budget support, based especially on the annual operational reviews referred to in Article 5(3). They shall specify the objectives pursued, the fields of intervention, the total amount of financing planned and an indication of the amounts allocated for each operation. They shall include detailed individual fiches for each foreseen operation which shall contain an analysis of the specific sector context, a description of the actions to be financed, the main stakeholders, the expected results based on quantitative and qualitative indicators, the management procedure, an indicative implementation timetable, and, in case of budget support, the criteria for disbursement, inclusive of possible variable tranches. Objectives shall be specific, measurable, realistic and have time-bound benchmarks, aligning with the partner country or region's own objectives and benchmarks to the maximum extent possible. They shall state how they take current or planned EIB activities into account.

3. The annual action programmes shall be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3) of this Regulation. Each Member State may request the withdrawal of a project or programme from the annual action programme. If this request is supported by a blocking minority of Member States as laid down in Article 8(3) in connection with 8(2) of the Internal Agreement, the annual action programme shall be adopted by the Commission without the project or programme concerned in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3) of this Regulation. Unless the Commission, in line with the views of the Member States in the EDF Committee, wishes not to pursue the withdrawn project or programme it shall, at a later stage, be re-submitted to the EDF Committee outside the annual action programme as provided for in paragraph 1, second subparagraph of this Article in the form of a financing proposal which shall then be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3) of this Regulation.

4. Amendments to annual action programmes or to measures not provided for in the annual action programmes shall be adopted in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3). In cases where amendments to Annual Action Programmes or measures not provided for in the annual action programmes do not exceed 20 % of the initial projects, programmes or consolidated allocation thereof, but do not represent more than EUR 10 million, such amendments shall be adopted by the Commission provided they do not affect the initial objectives set out in the Commission decision. The Commission shall inform the EDF Committee of any such amendments within one month.

5. The Commission shall adopt specific action programmes in accordance with the management procedure set out in Article 11(3) of this Regulation for support expenditures referred to in Article 6(2) of the Internal Agreement and not covered by the multiannual indicative programmes. Any changes in the action programmes for support expenditures shall be adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article.

6. Member States represented in the country or region, other interested Member States and where appropriate the EIB shall be kept regularly informed by the Commission on the implementation of Community projects and programmes. In turn, each Member State and the EIB shall also regularly inform the Commission, at country or region level, of the cooperation activities that they are implementing or programming, in each particular country or region.

7. In accordance with Article 11(4) of this Regulation, each Member State may at any moment request to include on the agenda of the EDF Committee an exchange of views on implementation issues relating to a particular project or programme managed by the Commission. This exchange of views may include the way the Commission applies the criteria for disbursement of budget support referred to under paragraph 2 of this Article.